Enjoy Your Trip
by pingipenguin
Summary: A simple fall takes a turn for the worse. Based on a true story.


_**Standard Disclaimer: **__I don't own _'The Last Of Us'_, which is really depressing, because I'm playing it through again and it really is the definition of _awesome_._

**o~O~o**

Around the husks of old tanks there rippled a gentle breeze, tinged with the faint promise of summer and the glow of springtimes past. Into the abandoned triage, Ellie shadowed Joel's footsteps, noting the quick rise-and-fall of his shoulders as he sucked in a nostalgic sigh. "Well this place takes me back."

"How so?"

They walked the lonely plane of memory, stepping across wind-tossed pamphlets and shards of broken glass. Joel moved, with great solemnity, towards a tattered tent. "It was right after everythin' went down," he said, pushing inside and collecting up a rag. "I ended up in a triage just like this, an' everywhere you looked you just … saw families torn apart. Whole damn world seemed t'have turned upside down in a blink."

The streets were lined with ghosts. Ellie stayed outside and shivered, not wanting to meet Joel's gaze as she framed her next question. "Is that after you lost Sarah?"

His breath hitched. The silhouette she saw was rimmed with sadness. "Yes, it was."

"I … can't imagine losing someone you love like that." She can, really; Riley's face floats before her eyes, full of stubborn determination, full of pride … bulletproof, as they then had thought. But Joel's proved his bullheadedness on this matter before, and besides, Ellie's never lost a daughter; never lost someone in tandem with a world and way of life. "Losing everything you know." As Joel emerges, composed and calm, she meets his eyes head-on. "I'm sorry, Joel."

He smiles. It's a different smile to the one in Boston, which was hard and tight and full of bitterness so deep it was like a cavern, a vacuum, threatening to swallow her whole. In _this_ smile she sees sadness, yes, but fondness, too, and the beginnings of acceptance. _This_ smile is something Joel never was before; something different, something _new_. He moves past her, towards the hospital, ghost-hung eyes adrift on the breeze.

"It's okay, Ell –"

He catches his foot on the leg of a bench. Joel cries out as he falls, slamming to earth with enough force to make Ellie cringe sympathetically but not do any damage, surely. His form, several feet ahead, lies still; she blames embarrassment for this petrification. Then, sighing, she moves to help him up.

"C'mon, Joel. It's okay. I'm not laughing at you."

There's no response. Once, this would not have worried Ellie, but since Lakeside Joel's been almost … chatty. Perhaps. Maybe that's the wrong word. Still, she feels a prickle of concern at his silence. Gently, she lays a hand atop his shoulder.

"Joel?"

He doesn't answer. He's not … Christ, he's not moving. Alarmed, Ellie rolls him onto his back. Joel's face is blank and his eyes vacant; they're staring, staring, off into the heedless blue heavens above, no longer hung with remorse or that canny watchfulness she's so come to depend upon. His mouth hangs slightly open and with trembling hands Ellie presses two fingers to the underside of his jaw.

She can't believe it. There's no pulse. Against all odds, after all they've been through … and _done_ … Joel has died tripping over a fucking _bench_. She can't believe it. The truth won't sink into her solidified, stubborn brain.

"What the actual _fuck_, Joel?"

**o~O~o**

**A/N: **_**Okay, so there's a bit of an explanation to this one. It's based on a glitch I encountered in Salt Lake, when Joel and Ellie are passing through the triage. As the dialogue was unfolding Joel passed a little too close to a bench; so close, in fact, that his lower body got caught and he glitched into the "falling" animation. Before I could figure out what to do the death music played and I was back at the last checkpoint. At first I found it hilarious, but then I realised the situation must've been pretty horrifying for Ellie had it actually played out, and I became curious about her reaction. Thus, my new little plot bunny got a sick set of wheels and went for a spin.**_

_**Feel free to leave a review. I love getting feedback from you guys **____** Plus, it's been a really long while, so I have no idea how rusty my writing skills have gotten. Again, feel free to let me know. **_


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